


Clear Curiosity

by jayyxx



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dialogue Heavy, Fluff and Angst, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, No Spoilers, Potentially OOC, Перевод на русский | Translation in Russian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2019-05-05 01:08:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14605869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jayyxx/pseuds/jayyxx
Summary: “Curiosity may have killed the cat, but that doesn’t say anything about what it does to a spider.”Or, the one where Peter has a minor crush on Loki.





	1. Tony Stark & The Rules

**Author's Note:**

> post ragnarok but pre infinity war. we’re pretending civil war didn’t happen and the team is all living happy in the stark mansion we saw at the end of homecoming. all relationships can be platonic or romantic, i just tagged both for funzies.
> 
> Translation into Russian - [ Чистое любопытство ](https://ficbook.net/readfic/6872152)

When Peter first hears of Loki, Son of Odin, God of Mischief, Tony speaks of him like a villain. 

“I thought he lived on, you know, Planet Thor?” 

Tony, looking up from his driver board and smiles his sweet little _oh Peter, you're so cute and dumb_ smile and goes back to tinkering. 

Peter spins in his chair. “What did he do that was so bad?” 

“Can’t you just trust me when I say he’s an asshole and leave it at that?” 

“Just because you think he’s an asshole doesn’t mean I would…” 

Tony gives him a hard stare. “Yes you would.” 

Rolling his eyes, Peter pushes his wheelie chair away from his desk. “Maybe if you’d tell me what happened I could form my own opinion.” He mumbles as he walks out. 

“Hey! No talking under your breath!” 

“I said I’m going to see Bruce!” He pushes open the glass lab door and pouts as he wanders his way into the medbay. 

Tony only shakes his head, and goes back to his work.

↯

The next time, Bruce speaks of him as a warning.

“I ‘dunno Pete, I wouldn’t go poking my head around in stuff you may not actually wanna’ know the answer to.” Bruce explains while throwing Pocky sticks into his mouth. The strawberry kind. 

Peter kicks his legs back and forth against the exam table. “I wanna know.” 

Bruce sighs. “You’re too curious, kid. It’s good, but you gotta know how to control it.” He stands up, brushing his hands against his pants and comes to pat Peter on the shoulder. “While you’re here, lets take some blood. Hm?”

And so Peter sits with his knees crossed on the exam table, elbow on knee, chin in hand, while Bruce pokes him with various thinks to ensure his spidey-senses still tingle and his levels are all good. 

They are, of course, and Bruce ushers him out with only a warning about his salt intake. Bastard.

↯

The third time, Rogers speaks of him with resignation.

“Leave it, Peter. It’s over. It’s in the past.” 

Peter responds by heaving a big sigh and collapsing sideways into Bucky on the couch. Bucky laughs and smacks his chest as he stretches like a mewling cat. “Why won’t anyone tell me what happened!?” 

“Don’t worry about it, man. He can’t hurt us no more.” Bucky tells him, now weaving a hand through Peter’s hair. 

“I deserve to know… Wait!” He shoots up. “Do you know? What about Sam?” 

Bucky says nice and quiet, his eyebrows up as he side-eyes Steve. 

“You told him, but not me? I’m just curious!” 

Shaking his head, Steve comes to sit beside him. “Look. If you really wanna know, ask the Big Man when he comes by. He’s the best one to ask.” 

Pulling a face, Peter stares at him with his big brown eyes. “Why don’t you trust me?”

“Pete…” Steve starts as Bucky howls behind them. 

“No. It’s fine. You don’t trust me enough to know the history of the Avengers. It’s fine.” He pushes off the couch, wiggling out of any hands that attempt to pull him back. He hears Steve sigh and flop back into the couch. Bucky still has a giggle in his throat.

↯

The fourth time he speaks about Loki, Thor speaks of him like a lost friend.

For some reason, they’re in the pool. Nat is hanging off the diving board, Clint and his kids are down at the shallow end, splashing about. Bucky and Tony keep their distance, and Steve and Bruce rest against the edge with drinks in hand. 

Thor is quite possibly the biggest human (well…) Peter has ever seen. And it is with great glee that he accepts his offer of, well, tossing him like a rag-doll into the deep end.

“Come!” He bellows. “Stand upon my hands.” He holds his hands in a cup underwater, which Peter steps into, balancing with a hand on his shoulder. Tony is making his complaints, but he’s much to far away, and much to afraid of the water to do anything about it. 

With a quick moment, Thor brings him out of the water and over his head like Peter is a cheerleader. He squeals right along with the Barton kids, who cheer, as Peter is then dropped, and slides back into the water quite gracefully, if he says so himself. 

They do this a couple more times, until Peter gets water up his nose and Thor cradles him like a baby, cooing while he sputters and coughs. He deposits Peter on the side of the poor, and runs a hand through his now short hair, water flinging. 

Dripping, Peter sits curled in a towel on the side of the pool, his Godly friend leaning against the wall beside him. 

“Thor…” Peter starts, ensuring that Tony isn’t near to listen. “Will you tell me about your brother?”

The smile that lights Thor’s face is brighter than the day. “Of course! What would you like to know of him?”

Peter feels much better knowing that Loki is one of Thor’s favourite topics of conversation, whereas everyone else enjoys shoving his name under the rug. “Just… What did he do that was so wrong?” 

Thor’s warm smile fades. “I see…” 

“It’s okay! If you don’t wanna talk about it!” Why would he say that? Curse his big heart.

With a sigh, Thor heaves out of the water, bringing up half the pool with him. Peter kindly averts his eyes because, okay _wow._ Peter stays where he’s sat, knees to his chest, covered in a towel, and watches him high-five the Barton kids, before grabbing his own towel, and sitting beside Peter. 

“My brother,” he starts, “has done many bad things. That are all in the past now.” He wraps his towel about his shoulders and Peter grimaces as it doesn’t even wrap around his chest, but can wrap around Peter twice. “Loki may never be considered a good man in Stark’s eyes, but he has redeemed himself in mine.” 

There’s something entrancing about the way he speaks, with an underlying meaning and cautious tone. Thor knows better than to speak badly about his brother, or Peter’s mentor. 

“I have not been on this world long, and Loki shorter than I. It’s strange here. Makes me feel different than I did on my home.” 

“Why’s that?” Peter pushes. 

“I feel lonely here. Even with my friends surrounding me.” He gestures to many people lounging around the pool. Bucky now sits with his feet in, Steve’s arm wrapped around his calve, laughing along with Bruce. Nat and the kids are splashing Clint, and Sam lays on a beach chair in the sun.

Peter kicks the water. “Where is Loki now?” He fears the answer is dead.

“Oh, he’s in the basement.” Is Thor’s simple responds.

“What?” 

“Yeah. He lives in the basement.”

Oh man, he thinks, as Tony comes up behind him, and pushes him into the water. Towel and all.

↯

The final time he speaks of Loki, he goes to the source himself.

Perhaps wandering the Stark Mansion after dark is not the best idea, but Peter is curious. Curiosity may have killed the cat, but that doesn’t say anything about what it does to a spider. 

The basement is simply a long hallway lined with doors. Many of the doors are labeled. “Storage,” “Documents,” “Broken Things.” He takes a peak in the last one and finds half a dozen half built Iron Man suits and laughs, thinking he’ll have to root around in there to find something to bring home to Ned.

Although he doesn’t have much info, he’s pretty sure Loki isn’t living it up in a basement suit with his own kitchenette and cute floral bedsheets. He knows there’s a cell down here, but knew better than to search about to find it. 

Until today, he supposes. 

He’s sure Stark wouldn’t just mark the door “Jail Cell for Otherworldly Gods of Mischief,” although that would be helpful. But the door at the end of the hall to the right, with it’s own walkway and a heavy bolted door is probably his best bet. 

The scanner doesn’t accept his fingerprint, so he attempts a couple different passcodes before landing on the one that clicks the door open. It’s the same one to Stark’s computer. Nice try, old man. 

He pushes the door open slowly, and finds the room inside is dark and cold. Theres a major temperature difference between the hallway and this room, and wonders if maybe he found a wine cellar instead. 

But from the corner, he hears a voice that startles him, although all it says, soft spoken and sleepy, is; “brother?” 

“Uh.” Is Peters intelligent response, and suddenly there is a panicked shuffling, and a light flickers to fill the room. 

Peter pokes around the door, and looks into the corner of the room, where a (nice sized) bed is pressed against the wall, and a small man is huddled on it. 

“Gods,” he says, “I thought you were Stark.” 

Peter shakes himself. “No, I’m, uhh, I’m his student. Peter.” 

The man stands. His clothing is loose and comfortable, his hair long and dark. He’s thin and mostly leg, with long, spindly arms. His wrists are bound with a cuff on each, not connected to anything, but blinking a blue light; clearly some kind of restraint. 

He looks over Peter and his ratty jeans and old tee-shirt from when he played on the school basketball team one year, before settling his hard eyes on his face. 

Peter wonders if he’s using some kind of powers on him, because similar to his brother, Peter feels a pull towards this man. “Are you Loki?”

“Are _you_ not but a child? Go back to your bed.” He dismisses him with a wave, and crawls back towards his own bed. 

“I brought you something.” 

This peaks Loki’s interest. “Is it a blade?” He asks sarcastically, but then makes a face of thought. “I _have_ been begging for death… Didn’t think Stark would make a kid do it.” 

Peter grimaces. “It’s an apple.” He removes it from his hoodie pocket, and it catches Loki’s eye, as he turns slowly, and stops his descent back into his bed. “Thor said you like apples.” 

Loki gives him a look like he’s pulled a heart-string. “What a strange place to put a blade.”

“I’m not…!” He quiets himself when his voice bounces in the small room. “I’m not trying to kill you.” 

“You are Tony’s student?” 

Peter nods. The black hair swishes as Loki tilts his head to the side, scanning Peter from ear to toe. “What is your interest with me?” 

The weird thing is, Peter suddenly doesn’t think this ‘apple in exchange for info’ is going to work. “I just… I just wanna know… what you did to land you in here.”

Loki walks past him, and although Peter takes a step back, he keeps his distance. The room— now filled with light — is small. It doesn’t look like a cell, with two panel windows at the top of the far wall, a bathroom with a tub off to the right, and a small kitchen like space, with a table pressed against the wall, a mini-fridge and stand-alone sink beside it, and mugs and plates scattered about. Loki makes his way to a couch on the far wall, but only stands near it. “Oh, I’m only here because my brother is lost without me.” 

Peter doesn’t know what that means. He doesn’t push. “What did you do? With the tesseract?” 

“Do you not have the inter-websites? Why don’t you ask them.” Loki is clearly done here, as he throws a look over his shoulder to Peter. He starts to tidy things around his room, to keep himself from doing something stupid. 

“I do…” Peter starts, taking a step forward. “I jus... I want to hear it from you. Y’know. Fake news, and all that.” 

“And so what, you brought me an apple in exchange for my thoughts on the story?”

Peter shrugs. “No one will tell me what happened. They think I’m too, I don’t know, young? Stupid? They say it’s all over now, but Mr. Stark is clearly still upset over it.”

He watches as Loki deflate, a dirty mug in hand, clearly tired. Perhaps tonight is not the night. He makes one last press. “Do you want the apple or not.” 

Loki puts the mug on the table beside the stand-alone sink. Then, like a King’s Fool, he turns and marches right over to Peter. Suddenly frightened, Peter backs up.

“Are you afraid of me, boy? You really want to know all the things I’ve done to your precious teacher?” Loki seems to get control of himself. He takes a step back. “You don’t wish to know. Get out.” 

As if on cue, like this is one large theatre project, the door to their left opens with a snap. He watches Tony hold up his hand, covered in an iron glove, and beckon Loki away from his view. Steve, on the other hand, he doesn’t even notice until his arms are wrapped around Peter’s waist, and he is being tugged away, his heels dragging. “Hey! Hey!!” 

He hears Tony speak: “If he ever comes in here again, it’s your head, not his.” 

Loki responds with a kind, “You should keep all your pets caged, Stark, that one’s got quite the questions.” 

“Let me go! C’mon!” He kicks and pushes at the arms around him. Tony leaves Loki, and walks back towards him as the arms tug him out the door. Oh shit. He’s in so much trouble. 

The three of them leave Loki be, leaving only the warmth that leaked in from the hallway, and a small red apple on the floor.

↯

“…And it doesn’t matter what you thought would happen, or what…”

Steve has been droning on like this for what feels like hours. It’s probably only been five minutes since they dragged his ass upstairs and quite literally threw him on the couch, having Bucky sit next to him to keep him down.

“You disobeyed my rules, Pete.” Tony says, and with both of them standing in front of the couch, hands on hips, it feels like they could be his parents.

“At no time did you say not to go into the basement, you just asked me to stop talking about it.” 

“Yes, and I later learned you’ve been asking Bruce, and even frickin’ Thor himself about the whole thing. Why can’t you just drop it?” Tony snaps shaking his hands around. Steve looks down, knowing he was the one who told Peter to talk to Thor. 

“Fine.” Peter mumbles, pushing himself up from the couch. 

“Nope.” Steve stops him, and at that, Bucky throws his arm over him to push him back down. 

Groaning, Peter pushes at the arm, complaining, “why don’t you trust me enough to just tell me! Aunt May never keeps secrets from me!” 

“It’s not a secret, Pete. It’s just something we don’t want to talk about anymore!” Steve bellows. 

“Its bad enough he lives in the basement.” Tony states. 

This is so stupid. “That’s not it! You don’t want me knowing ‘cuz you think I’ma little kid who shouldn’t know. Bucky knows, and he joined after what happened! Sam knows!” 

“Peter…”

“You don’t trust me! You don’t want me to know because I’m not a real avenger! I’m just Stark’s secret weapon!”

The faces Steve and Tony give him make him want to crawl in a hole and die, or take a knee and apologize, but there’s a little voice in his head that sounds a lot like M.J. when it says, “you don’t have to take any of this shit. You’re an Avenger too.” 

And with that, Peter gets up. Bucky doesn’t stop him this time, but instead stands and follows him. Steve and Tony put a synchronized hand over their eyes and rub at their brows. 


	2. Steve Rogers & The Rule Breaker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> little bit of tony&peter snuggles, little bit of breakfast, little bit of steve and loki........

Damn his room for being so far away. Damn this house for being so large. As soon as he gets past the men in the living room, he finds himself getting progressively more upset as he makes his way to his room. 

“Peter,” Bucky calls from behind him, but he ignores him. It makes him feel bad — Bucky hasn’t done anything wrong, but he doesn’t want to stop and chat. He makes it to his room, and slams his door. 

↯

He knew Tony would come for him, just didn’t know to wait an hour, or two, or fall asleep. 

He’s glad he did the latter, because Tony comes to knock on his door at close to 2AM. 

He knocks twice, waking Peter from his delicate sleep, and lets himself in. 

Pepper had once told him that Tony was bad at communication. _”No, really?!”_ was his first sarcastic thought. He thinks back to when Tony told him he wouldn’t be seeing Pepper anymore, and remembers how his hands were shaking, but had said nothing more about it. 

Tony stalks over to his bed as Peter eyes him, his blankets up to his nose and knees curled to his chest beneath them.

Tony gets in beside him, ruffling the blankets and wraps arms around him. Peter stays stubborn and keeps his knees up, keeping them apart. Tony tugs at him, then laughs, poking at his ribs. 

“C’mon,” he smirks and Peter gives in, giggles with him, eventually unraveling his hold on his knees, sliding up close to let Tony hold him. 

An arm around his shoulder, one over his waist, Tony drags him in until his head is lying on his chest. Peter puts his hand over his reactor, covering the small light that shines from deep within Tony’s chest. 

Tony breathes out hard, like he’s relieved Peter let him in again. Like he’d ever not let him in.

“He scares me.” He admits, drawing a hand over Peter’s triceps. “He is more powerful than me. I don’t want him anywhere near you.” 

Pushing his head into Tony’s chest, he finds himself understanding. Loki can manipulate the world around him into whatever he desires, and that is somewhat frightening. But he knows that Tony sees his appeal, and knows that Peter only wishes to learn more.

“He’s dangerous. No other planet deserves to hold him, after his home was destroyed.” Tony continues, also continuing his soft rub along Peter’s arm and shoulder. “And we can’t kill him. Because of Thor.” He stops at Peter’s neck. “After everything he’s done; Thor still looks at him like he hung the stars.”

Peter smiles and nods. He knows this. 

“He goes down there every night, brings him dinner, plays him music… They get all snuggled up and sleep… You know I had a tiny little bed down there— Loki’s not that big, — but they sleep,” he slaps his hands, “together. So we got him that bigger bed.” 

Peter smiles into his chest. “They’re weird, hey?”

“Yup.” Tony pops the P, realizing the irony of his current situation. He starts up a slow stroke through Peter’s hair. “What’s with your fascination anyways?”

He shrugs, even though he can feel his blush. “I’ve never met an alien before.”

Tony laughs. Deep and pure, it fills the room and warms Peter to the core. He laughs too, squeezing Tony’s side. 

The world seems too quiet out here. It feels good when it’s full of laughter. 

Tony tampers off, huffing at him until he settles back on his chest. “Bucky was worried about you…” 

“Awh. You should have invited him to snuggle!” 

“Yeah, no. This is enough manly snuggling for me, thanks.” They both know this isn’t true. 

Peter settles into his side and closes his eyes. 

 

↯

 

Mornings are… messy. To say the least. 

Bucky makes breakfast almost every morning. He’s been learning since his time in Wakanda, where food was “next level.”

Today he fries eggs, half are scrambled, half sunny-sided. Sam is left of him, on toast and butter, and Bruce, to the right, is secretly stealing bacon; he knows Bucky won’t tattle. 

16 eggs, 12 pieces of toast and 8 plates later, Peter realizes they’ve miscounted. Bucky, Sam, Bruce, Tony, Nat, Steve, himself. Thor’s been gone all for a few days… Clint? No, Clint’s at home…

It’s with a tear in his heart he realizes Bucky has a plate for Loki. 

Has he always done that? Do they always cook for him and Thor sends it down? What about when Thor’s not here?

Peter puts his head down as he passes the table. He goes straight over and stands between Bucky and Bruce at the stove. 

“Hey, Pup.” Bucky chimes, putting an arm around his shoulder. “You feel better?”

Peter nods, hugging him sideways. “Sorry for running off.” 

He slides an egg off the skillet and shrugs, “I yelled at Stark for you.” 

That just makes him feel worse. He tries to duck away from him, but Bucky hands him a plate. “Go sit.” 

He doesn’t even get that far. As soon as he turns around, Steve is right in front of him, like a Goddamn wall. He takes Peter’s plate and hands it off, before tugging on his elbow. 

He glances back to give a pleading _SAVE ME_ look at Bucky, who gives him a salute with his spatula. Bruce is sticking his tongue out. 

Steve leads him to the hallway by the kitchen and stops him. Sometimes Peter is overwhelmed by how large these two super-soldiers are; Steve and Bucky. They’re nearly the same size as Thor, and Thor has lightening running under his skin. 

“Look,” Steve starts, 

“No, no, I should…” Peter interrupts. 

“Seriously, I…” 

They look at each other, then laugh. Steve smiles warmly and it makes Peter feel a little better. “I’ll go first.” Peter offers. At Steves nod, he continues. “I’m sorry for blowing up last night. It was childish.” 

Steve looks at him like he should say more, explain himself, but Peter stays quiet, meeting his eyes with something fierce. 

“I was going to say…” Steve begins. “I don’t understand what’s so interesting about him.” He gestures to the floor, meaning the basement. “But you mean no harm, and yeah, you’ve got him in your head now, you know where he lives, and I’m sure we won’t be able to keep you from him if you really want to speak with him.” 

This is true. Although he had a touching moment with Tony last night, he planned on explaining the situation to Ned at school later and seeing how he thinks he should go about meeting Loki again. 

“So. I am offering to go with you, and supervise as you talk.”

Wait, what?

He doesn’t realize he said that out loud until Steve nods. “Yup. You tell me when, and I’ll take you down there.” 

There’s a yell from the kitchen. “Pete, let’s go, Happy’s outside.” When Steve realizes the voice is Tony, he pins Peter to the wall, and whispers harshly, “you tell him about this and I’ll put hair dye in your shampoo.” 

Now that’s evil. Peter is left touching his hair softly as Steve walks around the corner.

He better keep his mouth shut. 

 

↯

 

As he walks down the stairs with Steve, he can almost hear Tony and Aunt May yelling at him when they find out what he’s been doing. 

He stands behind Steve as he opens the door. Steve goes in first, and it’s really starting to feel like they’re doing something bad here. 

“Dinner.” Is all Steve says in welcome. 

“You know,” Loki starts to speak, but Peter can’t see him. “Theres a slit in the door for a reason, Rogers.” 

Peter huffs a laugh. He likes this guy. 

Steve hands him the plate and he moves cautiously to peak around the doorway. He steps into the room, feeling a little bit like he’s invading. 

“Peter?” Loki is surprised. He is sat on his bed, same place he was last time Peter entered the room, but stands up and brushes himself off. “What brings you to see me?”

“He was wondering if you’d need some company, with Thor being away and all.” Steve tells him, which is _entirely not true._ Steve is making it sound like he has some kind of crush. 

Fascination, maybe. Crush is just… ridiculous. 

Loki smiles, though. “Then my friend you have become! Come, bring it here.” The man summons, waving a hand towards where he was sat before amongst the soft blankets on his bed. 

“He can stand.” Steve tells him, a hand touching Peters back. 

Loki gives him a look. “I have no quarrel with this boy.” His hands go up in surrender, and Peter makes his way to sit next to him on the bed. “Especially with how kind he has been to me; bringing me gifts and such.” 

Peter smiles lightly, a blush certainly painting his cheeks as he sits, handing over a paper plate with a sad looking sandwich on it. Yes, Peter is the King of gifts. 

“I have not known kindness in quite some time. Other than that given to me by my brother…” Loki looks off. 

Peter scuffs. “I don’t think you could do anything to make him _not_ be nice to you.” 

Shrugging, Loki purses his lips. “I have no longer the energy to search for some thing that might.” 

He pinches his mouth, and lets his eyes roam over Loki’s restraints. The skin around them is scarred, as if he attempted to cut his way out of them. His skin is milky white with the contrast of his dark hair and eyes. Although he is smaller than Thor, he too gives off the same aura of someone very important.

“They are charged. Stark has it so I cannot use my power.” 

That sounds so inhumane. All of this does. He looks to his hands. 

Loki picks up on his attitude change. “What troubles you, young one?” 

Peter picks his head up and plasters a smile. “Tell me a story.”

“Is that what your mother does when you’re upset?” Loki snarks. 

Peter cringes. “She uses to. Now Mr. Stark tells me stories. Or Bucky.” 

Behind them, Steve scoffs. 

“Tell me about Asgard.” 

Loki smiles at him, but it’s sad. “I have only few good memories of my home. Most are from when I was young.” When Peter looks at him expectantly, he continues. “It is an island of gold and power. People dress different than they do here. In draped cloths and fine fabrics.” He looks to his hands. “I had always been an outsider.” 

As Loki settles into an easy story about his life as a child on Asgard, Peter only feels more drawn to him. He listens quietly and enjoys hearing it. He nods and smiles and frowns when appropriate, and neither of them notice Steve pull out his mobile and start tapping away at it— bored. 

Loki finishes his story by trailing off. The memories of his home world are painful, as they remind him of all that is lost. “And now you, friend. Tell me. Why are you here with these creatures,” Steve tuts at his words, “and not home with your Momma?”

“My Momma,” Peter begins, feeling soft in the low light and story Loki told, “passed away when I was young. Both my parents… I live with my aunt now.” 

“And what brings you here?” 

_Thats what I’ve been trying to figure out about you._ “Mr. Stark is teaching me how to be a super-hero.” 

Loki fake gasps. “Why would you ever do such a thing?” 

“What are you talking about, it’s great! I get to do super cool things here. He’s building me a suit and everything!” 

The childlike innocence of it all is rewarding to Loki. He feels his heart swell for the boy. “Well, I hope it all works out for you, young one. Perhaps we should get some rest now.”

“He’s right.” Steve says, but it looks like the admission burnt his tongue. “Let’s head up, Pete.”

Peter nods. He is tired… How long have they been down here? Was it always dark through the windows? 

He stands, and before he takes off, blocks Loki’s body with his own, and takes a treat from his hoodie pocket, like the first time. He hands over a small chocolate bar, the kind with the air-holes in the middle that are super expensive, even though you get less chocolate. 

Loki’s hand closes around it, and then pets over Peter’s forearm, looking up at him with his dark eyes and a kind grin. “Farewell, Peter.” 

“Bye.” He stammers, flustered. Don’t ask him why.


	3. Loki Odinson & The New Kid

This weird thing they have; it continues. 

Steve stops coming after a while, realizing Peter really isn’t in much danger with Loki restrained and well knowing that if he hurts the kid, he will die, no matter what Thor says about it. 

Speaking of Thor; he’s been gone for nearly two weeks. 

Peter had never noticed when Thor had taken off before, other than the fact that huge body wasn't taking up two spots on the couch then they watch a movie. 

Loki asks about him frequently. Throws it into conversation while they play a card game or talk about school work. Loki asks a lot about schooling on Earth. 

“Any word of my brother?” Is the first thing Loki asks when Peter brings down his breakfast in the morning. 

He winces, and shakes his head no. 

Loki takes his plate and goes to sit on his couch. Peter wanders around, his backpack on and shoes done up. Happy should be here any minute to take him to back into Queens for the weekend; to Aunt May. 

“Are you off?” 

“Yeah, it’s Saturday.” 

“Already?” Loki looks sceptic. 

“Well, yesterday was Friday, so yes.” 

“Ah.” 

Peter feels bad. He realizes he’s been down to see Loki every day this week. He’s built this _weird_ friendship with his _weird_ guy and now he’s taking off for two days when Thor’s not around to keep him company. He plops onto the couch next to him. “I’ll see you again on Monday?”

“I’ll be here.” Loki reaches forward to tap Peter’s nose. 

“Yeah…” Peter looks off, scuffs his shoes. “Will you miss me?” 

Loki grins. “Never.” 

_I’ll miss you, while I’m out there and you’re down here alone._ He suddenly gets a picture of Loki in the car with him, watching the New York skyline spin by as they drive to May’s. “I’ll ask about Thor, okay?” 

Loki nods. “Thank you, Peter.” 

Peter leaves with a wave, leaving Loki alone for the weekend.

↯

The next week, on a Wednesday, Bruce beats Peter to a pulp… In Mario Kart.

Neither of them even notice who enters the room until he’s standing right in front of them. “Hey, hey!” Bruce yelps as Thor steps over his legs on the coffee table, falling hard onto the couch between them. “You beast! I was winning!” He complains as Luigi slides into first place. 

“Thor?!” Peter calls, forgetting about the game entirely. 

Bruce swings his legs over Thor’s lap and continues with his game. Thor is holding a single slice of pizza, and munches on it while rests his head on the back of the couch. 

“Where have you been? Loki’s been downstairs all alone!” Peter proclaims, smacking his arm. 

“I have been busy.” He says at the same time Bruce calmly mentions that Peter’s Kart is driving into the wall. 

“Busy where?” 

Thor makes a loud groaning noise and flops left onto Bruce. 

“Get off! Get off! Ah!” He pauses the game. “What is with you, man!? Can’t you see I’m finally beating him?” 

“I care not about your game.” Thor mumbles and attempts to crawl in Bruce’s lap, although it turning into quite the opposite; _”Ow! I don’t fold like that!”_

Bruce groans as Thor settles with his forehead to his shoulder and arms around his middle. He un-pauses the game, putting his arms around Thor’s back and his controller on Thor’s shoulder. 

“C’mon Pete, it’s gotta be a fair fight.” Bruce grumbles as Peter’s character is now stopped, facing the wall. _These superhero’s are so weird._

“Whats wrong with you?” Peter asks worried, poking Thor in the back. 

Bruce shrugs. “Who knows. Whatever.” 

Peter collects himself, drops his controller, and heads for the basement. 

_(“How does Peter know of my brother?” Thor mumbles._

_“Steve has been letting him go down there and hang out. They do puzzles or something.” Bruce grunts, pushing Thor off him and resuming his video game, where he looses to Luigi, but will never tell Peter as such.)_

↯

Loki is curled under his covers when Peter gets there. He smiles and says his name softly.

Peter comes over to his bed and crouches beside it. “Are you and Thor fighting?” 

Loki’s expressions changes. He curls tighter in his blankets. “Is he back?”

“Yeah, he’s upstairs but he looked upset.” 

Pinching his mouth, Loki rolls to face him. “He wants to take me away.” 

“What?”

“He’s been searching for another planet to put the Asgardian’s on. There, he promises, I will be free.” 

This is wonderful news, why is Loki so sad?

He asks quietly, and Loki only shrugs. “I don’t deserve this.” 

“Loki…”

“I don’t deserve this room, even. If I am not killed, I should be kept in a room with no windows and doors, no way of contacting anyone. Those I have hurt -- Stark, Rogers… They should not be feeding me, washing my dressings… They should be throwing rocks at me like an animal in a cage.”

Peter… hates this. He had no idea Loki felt this way, and he is suddenly overcome with emotion, surging up to sit on the bed next to him and pet over his arms and shoulders. “That’s not true…” 

“I don’t deserve to be free.” Loki whispers, starring right through Peter. “I don’t deserve you and your friendship everyday, and I certainly don’t deserve Thor.” 

“Thats… Loki, stop, I don’t know what you did in New York but that doesn’t mean you haven't changed, you’re better now!” 

“You only think that because the real world has not tainted your mind.” Loki cries, his face is twisted in pain. He places a hand on Peter’s face, “and I don’t deserve your company. I will ruin you somehow. I always ruin the good in my life.” 

“Stop!” Peter shouts, reaching up and tangling his fingers into the hair at Loki’s temporal lobes, bringing their foreheads together. “Stop, stop.”

Loki can’t fight anymore. He wants to push Peter away, crawl under his blankets and never leave until he starves to his death, but he doesn’t. 

Peter pushes him down, lays beside him, holds him like Mr. Stark does when he’s sad, and hushes him. Loki shakes quietly, and sleeps.

↯

Peter wakes downstairs. Loki is still asleep, curled facing the wall.

Oh shit. 

As quietly and as panicked as possible, Peter dashes out of the room with only a quick glance at his watch, telling him he’s late, and still in his PJ’s, and half of his homework is…

“Peter?” 

So, you remember that room labeled “Broken Things?” from before? Yeah, Tony often digs around in there when he needs spare parts… And this morning at eight AM seems like a good enough time as any to do just that. 

And when Peter spins around, almost near the stairs, so very close… He sees Tony. “Hi.” He says, but already knows whats about to happen. 

Tony looks down the hall, at the door Peter just came out of, looking sleep-soft and wrinkled, and slouches. “Okay. Upstairs. Now.”

↯

“Happy will take you home after school. You will stay there, and you can come back on Monday.”

Monday?! Thats nearly a whole week without his suit! And nearly a whole week Loki will be without company. “You’re not listening to me! He won’t hurt me, he’s — he’s lonely! Him and Thor are having a tussle and he needed someone to talk to!” 

Tony shakes his head, plants his feet and yells “I don’t care! I told you to stay away from him, not sleep with him!” 

"I didn't...!"

“What is going on?!” Bruce shouts, appearing in the doorway of Peter’s bedroom. “Jesus Tony, stop yelling.”

“He’s mad that I’m hanging out with... With his prisoner!”

Bruce rubs his face, and turns to the hallway again. “Steve! This is a you thing!” 

“He’s using you!” Tony continues. “He’s only being nice to you so you’ll free him and he can wreak havoc again!” 

“He should be freed! You’re keeping him like an animal!” Peter yells back and Steve enters the room, hands up and ready to control the situation. Thank God. 

“Okay, okay enough yelling. 'the hell is going on?” He speaks and Tony instantly heaves a sigh. Of what — relief, anger — Peter doesn’t know. 

“Peter is leaving until we get Loki off Earth. Thor knows a place.” Tony states, now calm. 

Peter shakes. “Steve, tell him.” He throws a hand in Tony’s direction. 

Steve runs a hand over his hair, leaning down to Peter. “You’re still going down there? I thought you got your answers and left?”

“What are you talking about?” Barks Tony at the same time Peter cries; “he hasn’t told me anything! I still don’t even know _why_ he’s down there!”

The room falls silent. Bruce is standing awkwardly in the door frame, looking between them. In the hall, a group of Bucky, Nat and Sam has formed, but they duck and hide any time Tony looks over. 

“I…” Steve starts. “I brought him down there, like three times, to meet with him. I thought they were talking about New York and after that, Peter never asked me to take him down again. I didn’t know he was still visiting, Tony, 'thought he was bringing him his meals. I’m sorry.” 

Theres a hiss from the hallway that is definitely Nat. Tony sags. “Anyone else doing stuff behind my back? In my house?” He asks after a minute. 

It’s quiet for a moment, all holding their breath. “I steal bacon from the breakfast plate before I put it on the table.” Bruce admits, attempting to break the ice. Bucky coughs.

Tony gives him a look that would make any man surrender. “Get him out of here.” He says to Bruce, grabbing and throwing Peter’s shoulder to him. Bruce grabs him as he stumbles, and wraps an arm around him. “And all of you,” he points to the hallway, “scatter.” 

They do, Nat and Sam high-tailing it out of there like they’ve been burned. Bucky holds his arms open, and Peter falls into them with a sob. He and Bruce carry him downstairs to the living room. 

"And Google him, why don't you!" Is Tony's final word to Peter, who grips Bucky like a lifeline, digging his nails in. 

Peter won’t. He doesn’t care anymore. Loki is his friend now, and he doesn’t care about what he did.

Noticing the conundrum, Thor stands from the couch, removing his headphones that blare pop music.

“Peter?” He asks, coming to where Bucky is leading him. They walk straight past him. 

Bruce gives him an awkward smile, and points upstairs. “Your turn.” 

Confused, Thor goes.

↯

With his backpack and his weekend-duffle, he sits on the steps outside, waiting for Happy. He had finally shook Bucky off him, and was finally alone in the yard. He’s been taking long, cool breaths like Sam taught him, hugging about his knees and counting up and down to ten.

The front door opens, and in his peripheral he can see Tony’s stupid purple PJ pants. “Pup,” he calls. The stupid nickname feeling like an insult now. He’s not a pup, he’s not a dumb kid. He shakes his head and looks towards the driveway. 

Something pokes his shoulder. “You forgot your chem book.” Says Tony, resting it on his shoulder. Peter snatches it, and finally hears the rumble of tires on the drive. Thank fuck, he thinks as he turns to shove the book in his bag and take off to reach Happy. 

“See you on Monday.” Tony calls after him. “Stay off the streets!” 

Peter is furious. Fuck that guy. 

“Where to, Parker?” Happy asks, as un-happy as ever. Today, they mirror each others energy. 

“Home, please.” All he wants right now is his Aunt and his friends. Stark can kiss his ass for all he cares. 

“You sure look grumpy. You and Stark in a lovers quarrel?” 

Yeah, Happy can too.


	4. Peter Parker & The Tragedy of Loki of Asgard

In retrospect, it was a stupid plan. 

_(“Peter, no.” Ned pleaded, sitting cross legged on his bunkbed holding his chem book._

_“Peter, yes!” Peter cries. He jumps from the desk to the window sill — his feet shoving a lamp off the desk.)_

And yet, here he is. 

He hops the fence like a badass and runs to the back of the house. He enters the house through the backdoor, typing in his code and letting himself in. He reaches the security panel along the back wall of the room, and clicks the button. “F.R.I.D.A.Y?”

“Hello, Mr. Parker.” 

“Fri, I need you to disable all the alarms on the basement floor windows.” He begs into the microphone. 

The AI speaks back through the speaker in the panel. “Sir… You know I…”

“I have an access code. C’mon man.” He pleads as he types it in. Access codes are to F.R.I.D.A.Y what a lollipop is to a toddler. 

F.R.I.D.A.Y says nothing more but a “access granted” beep. Peter punches the air with a short “yes! Thank you!” and wishes for the best; leaving the house and re-locking it. 

He’s never been outside Loki’s room, but he knows the windows look out onto the backyard. He’s sure he can figure it out. 

He crouches as to not get detected by the cameras, which send alerts to Tony’s phone when there is movement in the yard. They live so far out in the country he’s sure if Tony did get an alert, he’d chalk it up to being a deer. 

He finds two small windows, long and rectangular, that lead into a room with a low blue light. He crouches down in the grass and exhales hard when he sees Loki sitting on his beloved couch. 

Digging about in his pockets, he finds his flathead screwdriver —of course he bought tools — and knocks on the window.

Loki spots him and looks positively confused, like maybe he believes he’s dreaming. Peter starts to dig under the window’s ledge as Loki searches for something long enough to reach and push open the window, since it stands two feet over his head. 

With some maneuvering, Loki stands on a chair and pushes open the window by pressing it with a broom handle, and Peter pries it open with his screwdriver. 

Once it’s open, Peter reaches his hand down. “C’mon, grab hold, let’s get out of here.” Sudden confusion, then fear, passes over Loki’s face. He steps back, stumbling off the couch. 

“Loki, come on!” Peter begs, his exhaustion, mental and physical, starting to take a toll. 

“Peter…” Loki whispers, his face turned down in sorrow. Shaking his head, Peter swings inside the window, hanging off the ledge and using his screwdriver to prop it open. He drops down onto the couch and approaches him. “I’m getting you out of here.” 

Loki looks like he’s about to cry. “Peter, go home. Please…”

“Not without you.” Replies the boy, holding his hand out for Loki to take. 

He does, but instead, pulls Peter into a crushing hug. 

“Please, please come with me. I’ll keep you safe. I have a bunk bed!” He pleads into Loki’s shoulder, gripping him tight. 

Loki laughs on a sob, pulling him away to see his face. “Oh, you sweet, sweet boy.”

“Don’t be scared.” Peter is crying now, the memory of last nights events settling in. “I’ll protect you from Mr. Stark. You can be free again!” 

Loki pets over his face and the soft hairs at his ears, shaking his head. “I cannot.” 

Peter trys his best to not look devastated, but fails. Loki continues; “I’m leaving. Day after next — with my brother.” He laughs. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.”

Shaking his head, Peter shakes off his hands. “Why? Why do you have to live like this, all for him?”

“You won’t understand…” Loki shrugs. “I love him.” 

Peter shakes his hands in frustration. “I love you…” he sobs. “No one has ever understood me like you.” 

He nods. He understands. “I know.” He only wishes to draw the boy back into his arms, who is shaking, hands rubbing up and down the arms of his soft green sweater. “There, I will be free.” 

Peter’s hands snake up to hold around his own neck, panting. “Please don’t go, please… You don’t know! What if he puts you in a jail again in… wherever you end up!? And I won’t even know!” 

Loki steps towards him, hand reaching out to Peter’s hip, touch full of reassurance. “He won’t. Thor won’t.” 

Peter knows he’s being hysterical. Loki draws him in again, holding him close as he sags against him. “Oh child…”

They rock back and fourth, Peter’s quite “please’s” babbled into Loki’s neck, and Loki’s accompanying hushed “I’m sorry's” are the only sound in the world right now. The boy cries quietly, and Loki searches deep inside himself, willing, forcing even, the magic from his core to surge through his fingers once more. 

He can’t. He presses his fingers into the back of Peter’s neck and with all of his might, he forces his magic into his control. 

They don’t have time for this.

“Once I am gone, Stark will have no reason to be mad with you.” 

That may be the worst thing someone has every said to him. His heart breaks as he wipes his eyes and leans back from Loki’s embrace. 

Loki pushes him away with a soft hand. “Please, Peter, go. Go before they hear you.”

 _”It’s going to get worse before it gets better.”_ Ned had told him as he reviewed Loki’s escape plan earlier that night. He was right, this feels so, so much worse. He makes a break for the window, scrambling up the wall and out onto the grass. 

And as he does, Loki notices four green finger spots on the back of his neck. _Huh._

He doesn’t look back, doesn’t say goodbye to his friend. He runs, far far from the Stark Mansion, and deep into the city. 

↯

Loki hardly sleeps for the rest of the night.

If there was any time to break out of his prison, now would be the time. He worries his dear Peter has been pushed past a breaking point when he refused to run away with him. He doesn’t know where Peter ran off to, or if he’s safe. 

He saw what he did. Somehow, he tapped into his magic and left an imprint on Peter’s neck. He _saw it._

He sits on the floor with his hands on his knees. He can feel his power running rapid through his body, cursed with being immobile for so long, overflowing with pent up energy. 

His mind races as he searches deep, hoping to connect with his magic enough to break through his restraints. He thinks of Peter, perhaps in danger, perhaps hurt, and can feel something break within him. 

He suddenly feels a sharp pain in his shoulder. He reaches up to grab it, squeeze it, but the pain does not stop. He clenches his teeth. His hands are burning, green at the fingers with a cloud of energy pouring from them. Somehow, he has regained some control. He jumps to his feet. What does this mean?

Scouring the room for something sharp, he looks for something to dig into his cuffs, and to release more of this feeling through his hands. 

He finds nothing, but is suddenly blown back by the sound of a gunshot in his ears. He covers his ears and ducks to the floor. Someone must be breaking in!?

He squeezes his eyes shut and sees a dark street behind his eyes. His shoulder hurts and he’s out of breath, he spins around to face the wall, and sees a flash of brown hair, light skin, and a green sweater. “Peter?” He whispers, but the vision is gone as soon as his eyes focus. 

When he looks back up, he is alone. Has he finally gone mad? He sinks to the floor in front of where he just saw the boy. 

His shoulder throbs a dull ache when he finally tips his head and calls for F.R.I.D.A.Y. “Room! Call my brother! And Stark!”

↯

Thor slides to his knees and helps lift his little brother up, “Gods! Are you alright? What has happened?”

Stark is behind him, rushing through the door. “What’s up?”

“Peter…” Loki forces out, and it peaks Tony’s attention. “He’s in danger.” 

Thor looks him over, removing his hand from his shoulder to check it. It’s fine, his shoulder looks completely normal.

“What are you talking about?” 

Loki grabs at his stomach like he’s going to be sick. “I can feel it.” Thor helps him walk away from the wall he was curled against and into the centre of the room. 

Tony shakes his head. “You’ve lost it. Go back to bed.” He turns to leave.

“Wait!” Loki shouts. “He… He was here.” 

This makes Tony stop in his tracks. The usual fire building up behind his face when he hears Loki speak of Peter. 

“Your device,” Loki spits, shaking his wrists, “they are messing with my powers.” 

Tony ignores him. “What do you mean Peter was here?” 

“Take off my cuffs and I will be able to know where he is.” Loki insists, shaking off Thor’s hold under his arms.

“What the fuck are you talking about!?” Tony cries. 

“He was here!” Loki yells. “Your machine is messing with my powers! I don’t know what happened, but I know he is hurt! And I know where he is!” 

Both men stare at him. “Look, I don’t know what game you’re…”

“No game.” Loki pushes. “Your child is hurt. And I know how to find him.” Loki is panting now, the frustration building. “Let me take you there!” 

Tony shakes his head. He starts to back away, his face scared and confused. “I don’t trust you.” 

“Peter does!” Loki screams. He’s begging now, can feel his shoulder ache every time he moves and knows this pain he is feeling belongs to the boy. “Peter trusts me!” 

The room walls silent for a moment. Loki’s lip is quivering. 

“Un-cuff me, and let me take you to him.” 

Tony says nothing, but his eyes scream pain and conflict. Loki steps forward, right in his face. “If he dies because you cannot put aside your hate for me, I promise you I will kill you slowly, and trap you in a cage like what you have done to me.” 

Tony pants, his arc reactor lighting Loki’s face — his expression of pure agony and frustration is what sets Tony over the edge. 

“Get in the car.” 

↯

_(The removal of his restraints felt like he could finally breathe again. The feeling of his natural power coursing through his blood again better than anything he had ever experienced before. His fingers glow as he regains control. His heart races and lungs swell, and he is himself again. He closes his eyes, picks up on the picture of Peter again. “Let’s go.” He commands, and unsurprisingly, Tony follows.)_

↯

Tony puts his hoodie over Loki’s head in the back of the car. Loki doesn’t need his eyes anyways. “Turn here.” He orders, and feels the car swerve. Loki holds a ball of energy in his hands, feeling it beat along with Peter’s slow heartbeat.

“Down. Right. Over.” He instructs, and Tony follows every word. Loki isn’t even from Earth and knows he’s going much faster the speed limit. 

“Close… Close.” He mumbles to himself. “Stop!” 

He sees Peter in his mind. Sees his legs stretched out in front of him on the ground. “Next road over. An alley!” 

Tony complies, and soon, they are rolling slowly through the New York street, peering into alleyways. 

Loki doesn’t know if Peter can feel the connection too — but if he can, he hopes he can hear Loki’s soft whispers of comfort. _“It’s going to be okay, we’re coming, we’ve got you.”_

Suddenly the car halts, but Loki doesn’t dare remove his blindfold. A car door opens and closes, and Loki is left in the car alone, holding Peter’s failing heartbeat in his hands.

↯

Someone is calling his name, and he sure as fuck hopes it’s not Aunt May. Oh God, could you imagine!?

This same someone is grabbing his face, swishing his face. “Get off,” he grumbles, but the person persists. 

As the persons fingers touch over his shoulder, he shouts and forces his eyes to open and…

It’s… “Tony?” 

“Oh God, hi Buddy, oh my God.” Tony mumbles. “Are you okay? Who did this to you? Is this a bullet wound!?” 

Haha, oh right. Peter got shot. 

Really, he was trying to help. Some guy was grabbing at this girl outside the bar, who didn’t seem to be having any fun. He just tried to help her. That’s all… That’s all. 

Tony grabs at his face and peels his eyes open. He suddenly remembers why he was so upset walking through downtown. 

“Get off me.” He commands, shaking away his hands. “Careful, Pup, you’re gonna hurt your shoulder.” Tony whispers. Again with the nickname! 

“Get off or… Or I’ll scream.” Peter claims. He will do it. Just watch him!

Tony is now —did he not hear him?— trying to move him off the ground. Yeah, no thanks. He’s good right here until the barman finds him at 3AM and calls the cops. 

And so, just as he was warned, Peter opens his mouth and cries; “Help! Help me!” 

Tony smacks a hand down over his mouth, but there are also other things happening, like the feeling of another person standing over him, radiating heat. 

Oh God, he hopes it’s not the cops. He was kidding about that! He doesn’t want Tony to get in trouble!

“Peter…” The voice says. When he opens his eyes, he sees a man with long dark hair, and soft skin, and a cool looking suit standing in front of him. “Come on, young one, let’s go home.”

“No.” He cries. “Not without you.” 

“I will come.” This version of Loki says. He knows Loki’s not really there, but he is quite enjoying this weird hallucination. Peter knows it’s a hallucination because when he reaches for him, his hand turns to gold and goes straight through.

“Let Mr. Stark help you now, let’s stand up now.” 

Peter gives up. He can’t win anyways. 

Before he knows it, he is in the back of Mr. Stark's Mercedes with his head in the lap of a man he knows, but does not recognize.

↯

He hurts. Like, okay, wow. He is in a lot of pain.

Peter grumbles as he comes back to life after Bruce put him under to remove the bullet from his shoulder. He groans in pain as he attempts to swallow down the drool in his mouth past the stickiness of his throat. 

“Shh, Pete, relax.” A calming voice whispers to him, and suddenly a straw is in front of his face. He drinks cool water, and tosses his head back in relief. 

“..r S’ark?”

“Yeah, Pup, I’m right here.” He shows this by squeezing Peter’s hand by the side of the bed. 

“Am I…” Peter attempts to open his eyes. “In the medbay?”

Tony chuckles. “Yup.” 

Peter finally manages to peek one eye open and turn to him. He is suddenly filled with grief and anguish. 

“Is Bruce happy to have…” He sniffles. “Someone real to check on?”

Tony smiles at him, and it’s full of forgiveness. “You’ll know it when you see him later.” 

Peter lets himself get choked up, nodding and laughing at the idea that Banner is dancing around the room after hearing Peter will need surgery to fix his shoulder. He hasn’t done anything _this fun_ in months. 

Mirroring his emotion, Tony is also overflowing with feeling. 

Peter swallows a sob. “I’m sorry,” he weeps. 

Tony nods, squeezing his hand and bringing it up to his lips. “I’m sorry too. I’m so sorry, Pete.” 

If anyone were to walk in, they’d see two guys holding hands and crying while looking at each other, and Peter wouldn’t have it any other way. 

“I’ll make it up to you…” He swears, “I’ll be so good, you won’t have to worry about me anymore.” 

“Oh sweetheart…” Tony whimpers, wiping Peter’s cheek. “I forgive you. I will always forgive you.” 

They share a laugh because it’s true. There’s nothing on Earth (or Asgard) that could really tear them apart. Peter raises his good arm and beckons him closer. 

“No, buddy, I’ll hurt your arm—“ 

“Please.” Peter asks. That’s all it takes, really, for Tony to stand up and climb into the bed with him, cover his good side with his body and let Peter press his face into his neck. He gently pets over Peter’s bad arm, careful of the bandages. 

Peter has always been tactile. Has always needed reassurance in the form of a hug or pat. Tony combs through his hair and whispers, “love you, Pete.” 

Peter has already succumbs to his pain medication, and is dozing against his neck. Tony knows he knows, and that’s all that matters.

↯

“Are you awake?” Is the first, rather ironic, thing he hears as he wakes. He grumbles, and turns his head to the source of the voice.

He is greeted by the sight of Loki, hair washed and dressed in some kind of Asgardian suit, with fancy lapels and shoulder plates. “Was wondering when you’d open your eyes. You’ve been rolling about for ten minutes.” 

“Loki?” Is he dreaming? 

“Hi.” He says with a charming smile. Peter’s mouth drops. 

“How… What?” 

His friend tips his head playfully, his hair falling over his shoulder. “You freed me.” Peter pinches his eyebrows. “Isn’t that what you were trying to do?”

Peter coughs, and Loki is quick to help him to a sip of water. “How?”

“Stark becomes irrational in dire situations, such as his precious boy going and getting himself shot.” Loki snarks, pinching Peter’s cheek. “How did you manage that, by the way?”

Peter laughs. “It’s not a fun story.” 

“I won’t bother then.” Loki’s eyes are bright in the light from the window of this new room. 

“Is Mr. Stark here?” 

“Oh yes.” Loki begins. “He’s keeping me on a rather short leash. I am restrained to this room only. And the basement, of course.” 

Peter notices his wrists are free. “Are you magic again?” 

The sarcastic, _I was always magic,_ dies on Loki’s tongue when he sees the look of childish fascination Peter often gave him. “Yes, my boy. Would you like to see a trick?”

Peter nods, and watches as Loki lifts his hand from the bed. It feels like dead weight, and he suddenly wishes to stretch. Loki presses his hand to Peter’s, and then turns it over in his own, with a small yellow butterfly in the palm of Peter’s hand.

Peter’s face lights with a grin. He attempts to touch it with his fingers by closing his hand, but Loki tuts, and keeps it open. 

He tries to enjoy it. He does, but the reality of it all had started to settle, heavy and hot anxiety in his chest. "Does this mean you're leaving?"

Loki's smile falters. The insect waddles around on Peters hand, before Loki closes his over it, and it disappears. 

“Hey,” someone new calls from the doorway, the screen door sliding close behind them. Peter’s eyes are a little blurry, but there’s no doubt it’s Bruce when he flails a hand at Loki, smacks into the air with a quick; “no magic in my lab.” 

Bruce pushes Loki from the room, but not without a lasting kiss to Peter’s forehead and a kind wish goodnight. Even as Bruce babbles on about cortisol levels; Peter falls asleep and dreams of butterflies.

↯

It’s a weird feeling, knowing your friend is leaving. Potentially forever.

Peter watches as Thor leads his brother outside, their hands clasped even though Loki is still cuffed (just normal cuffs his time.) They’re both in their royal clothing, and if Peter’s mouth is a little bit dry, that’s nobody’s business. The team is lined up to bid them farewell, the ship fired up and ready to take them away. 

The rest of the Asgardians have been living in a small remote town in Norway. Thor plans to pick them up on their way to their new planet. 

It’s all very exciting, as Peter watches Steve and Bucky shake hands with the brothers and wish them good luck. Nat nearly jumps into Thor’s arms and Bruce is already asking when he and Hulk can come visit. Thor kisses both of their cheeks and wishes them goodbye. Thor receives a handshake from Clint and Sam, and a hug from Tony, as Loki stands behind him in his cuffs.

As Thor and Tony separate, Loki comes up to him with his wrists out. Tony uncuffs him, freeing him. Peter can practically see his relief flowing off him in waves. 

Loki comes up to him next, smiling warmly. Peter can’t help but wrap his arms around him and hug him tight, careful of his shoulder. “I’ll miss you.” 

Loki laughs and pets his hair. “And I you, young one.” He pulls him away, Peters arms still around his waist as he cups his cheek. He places a gentle kiss to Peter’s forehead. Tony watches as Peter’s eyes fall softly closed. 

“Be smart, as you are. Continue to be as kind to others as you were to me.” 

Peter’s lip quivers. “Can I visit you?” 

Loki shrugs. “I would fly a ship back here and bring you there myself… But we will have to see.” He says, side eyeing Tony. Tony looks away.

“Okay.” Peter says, and although Loki is smiling, it feels sad. 

Thor hugs him too, going as far as to lift him off the ground a few feet. He ruffles Peters hair, and begins to tug Loki towards the ship. 

“Bye!” He yells to them. Loki turns and waves to him, as Thor waves to the whole team. 

Peter stands, wrapping his arm around Tony’s bicep as he stares into the sky; watching the ship turn invisible and fly off, only the sound of the engine, like wind, above their heads. 

The team begins to go inside. Tony tugs him in. “So, you never got your answer, did you?” 

Peter shrugs. “I guess not… But it doesn’t matter anymore.”

“No?” Tony asks, tipping his head. “Nah. It’s like you said; it’s in the past.” Peter explains. 

“Hm.” Tony hums, holding Peter’s hand which is wrapped around his elbow. “I didn’t think he was really your type?” 

Peter smacks him on the arm. Hey, he deserves it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow! What a roller coaster this has been. I had no desire to finish this, or even have it be over 3k, and here we are!  
> Thank you for your continued support, kudos, bookmarks and comments. I have been having a lovely time responding to them all.  
> As for this chapter; don’t come @ me for the “I L*** Y**” part okay he’s 15 he falls in love with every second person he meets. also, call Loki crazy, but this time without his magic has made him P O W ERFUL and is able to somewhat track peter in his mind (idk just go with it.) They have a reeeeal connection people!  
> Anywhoozles. As always I am [ghostcas](http://www.ghostycas.tumblr.com) on tumblr and would love to chat any day all day!  
> Again, thank you guys to much for your love. You're all so wonderful and I am currently mailing you all a thank you muffin basket and sending virtual kisses. xx, J
> 
> *update 12/27/18*   
> Wow!! We passed the 1000 mark!!! This is my very first fic to ever get this many kudos! Thank you guys so much for all your love!


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